The goal of the Brady Farm is to provide affordable, fresh, locally grown produce to our community. We strive to maintain affordable prices in order to serve all people. We use a combination of weekly box shares (CSAs), market shares, market stands, and donations to reach as many people as possible.
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CSA stands for Community-Supported-Agriculture. CSAs enable the farm to support their community, and in turn, the community supports the farm. Traditionally, CSAs consist of families purchasing a “share” of the farm in the spring. This helps the farm cover the high expenses early in the season. In turn, the shareholders give input on what they would like grown and they receive a weekly box of produce. The Brady CSA offers this traditional model, but has a modified market share to allow families to have more choice over what they receive. This is especially helpful for families with limited incomes. Our CSA program is strengthened through collaborations with other local farms. CSA shares are picked up at the farm, at farm stands and at designated locations across our community.
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Donations
Much of our community relies upon emergency food services to supplement their diet. We partner with local pantries and organizations to donate excess produce throughout the community, with a goal to donate 25% of our produce.
Our Programs
Our goal is to provide food that our community wants to eat, and is as healthy as possible. We use organic methods of production and do not use chemical pesticides or fertilizers. We also partner with other farms in order to offer more variety at our market stands and in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box.
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At the Brady Farm, you’ll find different varieties of beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, greens, herbs, leeks, lettuce, melon, okra, onions, peppers, popcorn, squash, shallots, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, squash, tomatoes, and flowers. We partner with other local, organic-practice farms to offer broccoli, cabbage, kale, potatoes, and fruit. What we offer changes by the season.
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In 2020, we introduced two high tunnels (plastic greenhouses) for starting seedlings, growing early crops like lettuce, spinach and carrots, and extending crops into winter.
What We Grow
THE FARM
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Broccoli
Okra - pod & flower
Education
The urban setting of the Brady Farm is ideal because it allows many people from the city to easily explore a farm and nature, and learn about how to grow food. We encourage groups to use the farm as a site for workshops, and we will be offering workshops designed to teach people about topics ranging from growing mushrooms, composting, pest management, and nature education.
Detroit Red beet
Kale, red & green cabbage, collards, mustards, tomatoes
Workforce Development
Farming is not a skill common to urban residents. Our goal is to use the farm as a way to offer both valuable farming experience and skill building, and use the experience of working at the farm as a means of gaining general job skills to help people succeed in any job. When possible, we strive to create meaningful and gainful employment opportunities for community members with a wide range of diverse educational and skill levels. In 2022 we will be offering a paid Urban Farm Apprenticeship Program, with funding from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. We have partnered with CNY Works, JobsPlus and OnPoint for College in order to offer the farm as a work site for more people in our community. For more information about job opportunities at the Brady Farm, email info@bradyfarm.com